Although a battle honor for
"Vicksburg(h)" appears on original Orphan Brigade flags,
and "Vicksburg" is listed as a battle among the company rosters in Thompson's History
of the Orphan Brigade (1898), the Orphans' actions there should not be confused with
the campaign in the summer of 1863 which resulted in the fall of the city. The Kentuckians
of the Orphan Brigade served at Vicksburg an entire year prior, manning various positions
during the defense of the city in July 1862.

Following the battle of Shiloh,
the Kentucky Brigade fell back to Corinth, Mississippi, as part of the rear guard of the
Army of Mississippi. The army was reorganized while at Corinth. Various understrength
companies were consolidated, particularly in the Sixth and Ninth regiments in the Kentucky
Brigade. Capt. Byrne's Artillery was broken up, some of the men transferring to Cobb's Battery (Cobb also got Byrne's guns to replace his own that
had been captured at Shiloh). Most galling to the Kentuckians, their Brigade was divided
among Gens. Hawes and Preston. So for a time during the summer of 1862, there were two
"First Kentucky" brigades.

The Confederate forces fell back from Corinth
at the end of May 1862, marching further south into Mississippi. In mid-June
Breckinridge's Division was detached and sent toward Vicksburg, arriving there at the end
of the month. The men went into camp in a valley near a bridge four miles out on the
railroad to Jackson, and for the next month they endured the heat, humidity, and
mosquitoes of the Mississippi summer. The brigades were dispersed among the defenses of
the city, and the 4th Kentucky Infantry was detached and sent fourteen miles south of
Vicksburg to Warrenton, to guard against a land attack by the Federals.

The Orphan Brigade camped about four miles
east of the city,
where the yellow dot is on this map; the 4th Ky. Inf. was on
detached service down river at Warrenton.(Official Records Atlas, Plate 36)

The Kentuckians fought no pitched battles while
at Vicksburg, but they were constantly on guard against the bombardment of the Federal
fleets, particularly the mortar boats, whose huge shells could be seen streaking high into
the air, to eventually descend and burst over the city. Undoubtedly, the most exciting
moments for the Orphans came when the Confederate ironclad ram Arkansas, commanded
by fellow Kentuckian Lt. Isaac Newton Brown, made a daring run through the Federal fleet
and anchored at Vicksburg in mid-July. A detail of soldiers was assigned to the ship
following its battles, to help recoal and resupply it. Some of the Kentucky volunteers
from Cobb's Battery even helped serve the Arkansas' guns during a night battle at
Vicksburg, and Caleb Allen of the 6th Kentucky Infantry actually transferred to the Navy
for a time, serving on the Arkansas during her further battles.

CSS Arkansas, as sketched by a member of
her crew(National Archives)
Follow this link to read a
history of the CSS Arkansas.

The Orphans at Vicksburg whiled away the time
in the heat, amusing themselves as best they could, but with tragic results on one
occasion. A couple of captured hogs provided steeds for an improvised race, but frightened
by Federal shelling, the hogs became uncontrollable. One porcine steed, with Charles
Edwards of the 9th Kentucky on its back, ran straight over a 50-foot bluff. Edwards
suffered a broken back and died in a few minutes, but the Orphans got their revenge on his
hog, which was slaughtered and eaten by Edwards' friends.

Breckinridge's Division received orders to take
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, from the Federals, and so left Vicksburg at the end of July. One
doubts if any of the Orphans looked back.

On 8 May 2010, the
Kentucky Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the Kentucky Division
of the United Daughters of the Confederacy dedicated a monument on the Vicksburg
battlefield to the Kentucky Confederates who served at Vicksburg. The monument
is located on South Confederate Ave., between Tour Stops 13 and 14, just south
of the Alabama monument.